Kultúrház (Culture House)

The work of Sára Timár, titled Culture house, undertakes to map the Hungarian local cultural sites and buildings. Although the history of the houses goes back into the past, it was in the socialist era when the institutional system of cultural houses was unified in Hungary: the already existing buildings were renovated and several new houses were erected between 1950 and 1989 according to the style and ideology of the era. The entertainment and the political-ideological education were present in the programmes of the houses at the same time, later, by the end of the eighties, the focus was entirely put on entertainment, culture mediation and the preservation of local traditions, as it is done today. After the 1989 regime change and the dissolution of socialism, many in the cultural leadership saw these places as remains of socialism; outdated institutions that have no real role. Anyhow, the institutions remained because in most of the settlements the houses were the only sites functioned as public spaces for the locals. Despite the fact that many buildings have been closed, almost every town and village operates a culture house today.Since 2010 several buildings have been modernized, yet many cultural houses can be found in Hungary where the past lives on: in the theater halls and rooms of the buildings different time layers have been piling up as the users are continuously contributing to or taking away from the total picture with years passing. Interestingly, by trying to adapt to today’s needs the newly reconstructed cultural houses also carry traces of former approaches and practices.The work of Sára Timár presents a series of photographs taken in many different Hungarian cultural houses and aims to depict the time gap between the political and economical changes and the mentality of people.

Artistic Statement

The analysis of social issues, the relationship between past and present and the omnipresent impact of history on our lives stand in the focus of my interests.In my previous studies, I researched in the field of history and social science. As a photographer, currently, I am mostly interested in the visual formulation and interpretation of these topics.In my work the researcher attitude is crucial. I have always been interested in long term projects where the engrossment and the research are both integral parts and the results can be integrated into the final form of the work. As an artistic practice, I use the medium of photography in every case. The strongest feature of my work is its documentarist attitude. Sometimes, besides the photos, I use texts and documents as well.In my opinion, my recent project, Culture House follows this approach. I spent a lot of time in the cultural houses when I was a child and took part in the programs held there. Of course, as a child, I had no idea what the regime change was. I did not even understand socialism or how a social-realist building should look like. But as the years went by, I increasingly felt the special world represented by the houses. Understandably, we dislike a lot of things from the legacy of the previous regime, especially, when it comes to buildings. When the past, in a certain way, lives on in our present, it always raises questions and causes interesting situations. I reckon that in the case of culture houses this is still accurate today. With the mapping of these buildings, in this work of mine, I aim to capture the socio-cultural change of the places.